The New York State Department of Health issued an alert Saturday for parts of the Hudson Valley as well as New York City regarding potential measles exposure.
Photo Credit: New York Department of Health

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The New York State Department of Health has issued an alert for parts of the Hudson Valley as well as New York City, regarding potential measles exposure.

A tourist from Australia who has been confirmed to have measles visited hotels in Manhattan and Brooklyn, was part of an Oasis Bible Tour group at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in Manhattan, and visited the Watchtower Educational Center in Putnam County, an Orange County hotel, an Urgent Care Center in Orange County, and Orange Regional Medical Center’s Emergency Department between Feb. 16–21, 2018, potentially exposing others to measles, the department said.

The risk of developing measles is very low, especially for people who have been immunized.

Anyone who visited the following locations may have been exposed:

La Quinta Inn, 31 W. 71st Street, New York, NY, between February 16 and the morning of February 19, 2018.

Oasis Bible Tours at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1000 5th Avenue, New York, NY, the morning of February 16, and the evening of February 17, 2018.

These times reflect the period that the infected individual was in these areas and a two-hour period after the individual left the area, as the virus remains alive in air and on surfaces for up to two hours. This explains the overlap in times, the department explained.

Those individuals lacking immunity or who are not sure if they have been vaccinated should contact their healthcare provider if they develop measles symptoms.

Symptoms include a fever, rash, cough, conjunctivitis or runny nose. Symptoms usually appear in 10-12 days after exposure. Individuals who may have been exposed and who lack immunity could begin experiencing symptoms at this time.

To prevent the spread of illness, the Department is advising individuals who may have been exposed and who have symptoms consistent with measles to contact their health care provider, a local clinic, or a local emergency department before going for care. This will help to prevent others at these facilities from being exposed to the illness.

Measles is a highly contagious respiratory disease caused by a virus that is spread by direct contact with nasal or throat secretions of infected people. People first develop a fever, then may have a cough, runny nose and watery eyes, followed by appearance of the rash.

The state Department of Health will issue a health advisory to health care providers in the metropolitan New York City region to notify them of the potential exposure. Health care providers should report all suspected cases of measles to their local health department.